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Big Little Fight for the Fan in All of Us
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By Chris Young, Comcast.net Sports
When Filipino fighting sensation Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao enters the ring against reigning Ring Magazine junior welterweight champ Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas (HBO PPV, 9 p.m. ET), one of the oldest sayings in boxing will be at play:
Hit and don’t get hit.
It’s rudimentary; it’s the simplest rule of the sweet science … sort of like when John Madden would tell us the team that scores the most points usually wins the game.
But the heart of the saying speaks to a fighter going out there and fighting his fight; the fight he spent months perfecting in the gym.
Pacquiao (48-3-2, 36 KOs) blazed a trail past David Diaz and straight through a sickly-looking Oscar De La Hoya. Granted, Diaz couldn’t have found Pacquiao with a telephoto lens the night of his beating, and the Golden Boy that Pacman pummeled was not the Golden Boy of Quartey days.
Still, conventional wisdom suggests that the boxer-puncher Pacquiao will find the same success versus a mauler like Hatton. Speed kills, and power stops fights.
But Hatton is neither Diaz nor De La Hoya, and conventional wisdom can’t always be trusted.
The Hitman (45-1, 32 KOs), who wrecked former titleholder Paulie Malignaggi last November in 11 rounds, has never lost a fight at 140 pounds. Pacquiao has never fought at 140. Hatton is easily the biggest fighter Pacquiao will have faced in his career, and come fight night, he’ll probably have 10 pounds or more on the Filipino star.
It’s a considerable advantage for Hatton, especially if the fight hangs on the ropes or carries into later rounds. Hatton’s ability to push through his opponents’ punches and bottle them up is rivaled by few in the junior welterweight division.
His devastation of a heavily favored Kostya Tszyu – a fight that had the longtime champion quitting on the stool by the 11th round – was proof of his tenacious will to win.
But if there’s one fighter that has shown he can beat – and beat badly – naturally bigger fighters, it’s Pacquiao.
The pride of Kibawe has been bounding classes since his days as a flyweight phenom. Last year alone he floated from lightweight to junior lightweight to welterweight (a difference of 17 pounds), winning at all three fights via knock out. Two of those fights were against tested champions.
Pacman’s beard, speed, style and ability to carry his punching power through the ranks have been nothing short of spectacular. His power will be there at 140, but the real questions are: Can he take Hatton’s punch? And will he have an answer for the Hitman’s quick left hook, a key shot vs. a rolling southpaw like Pacman?
At the heart of this battle lies a matchup of styles.
We know what we’re likely to get from Pacquiao: A blazing fight peppered with three- and four-punch power combinations, tricky angles, loads of movement and a blistering pace.
He’s a tour-de-force, a freak of cardiovascular nature and he’s scary good. What makes him so dangerous is that he gives his opponents very little breathing room between his onslaughts. He pops in, rattles off a barrage of shots, then pops out. But he doesn’t stay out long, and even when he’s hanging just outside his opponent’s reach, he’s on his toes, moving … and then bang: a quick lead left or sneak right.
He keeps his challengers on their heels and guessing. It’s the fiercest element of his aggressive style, one his speed affords him. When De La Hoya was next to quitting on the stool, he told his trainers he couldn’t figure out Pacquiao’s style. You can see it on tape dozens of times and foolishly think you’re prepared for it.
Then you see it barreling at you in the ring.
His power is another matter that can only be felt inside the ropes. For a small guy, Pacquiao packs an unbelievable punch. He floored Juan Manuel Marquez three times in the opening round during their first contest; he busted up the great Marco Antonio Barerra; he overwhelmed Morales the second time around, and, well, you saw the De La Hoya beating.
But if there is one chink in the Pacman’s armor, it’s his body. Marquez, the only fighter to visibly wobble the champ post flyweight, hurt Pacquiao to the body.
And if there’s any 140-pounder known for delivering big downstairs, it’s Hatton.
Hatton is a vicious body puncher who thrives in close quarters. He’s a hit-and-hold mauler who likes to use his size and strength to muscle his opponents to the ropes where he can rip away hooks low.
Overseas, where the refs are often more reluctant to break fighters apart, he’s found great success doing just that. But if anything can be taken from his first and only career loss to Floyd Mayweather, Jr., it’s that his dirty boxing style is virtually nullified here in the States. (Credit due to the bigger Pretty Boy tying him up in the clench as well)
Up until the Malignaggi fight, Hatton’s head movement and overall defense was next to nil.
This is something newly acquired trainer Floyd Mayweather, Sr. has brought to Hatton’s game.
For all his boisterous, beatnik waxing, the “not this time, that time, full-time, part-time, but of all time” former fighter is a skilled trainer. His style: Defense powers offense. Senior’s job was not to reconfigure Hatton’s fighting style but more to polish it down to a controlled fury.
Thus far, Mayweather’s methods have been successful. A smarter, faster Hatton out-foxed Malignaggi from the opening bell, despite the former champ being the better boxer on paper.
It’s a new kind of fighter in camp Hatton. But in camp Pacquiao, long-time trainer Freddie Roach – one of the best in the biz – feels he has the better man.
The Pick
It’s no secret you can hit Hatton. It’s no secret you can hit Pacquiao.
Hatton’s movement, power and foot and hand speed are often underestimated. But on a given night, Pacquiao can make anyone look slow.
The key factor will be Pacquiao’s speed and how Hatton responds to it. If Hatton allows Pacquiao to dictate the pace, beat him to the punch and keep the action in the center of the ring, it will be a short night for the defending champ.
The boxer/puncher Hatton we saw vs. Malignaggi could make for an exciting tactical fight, but it’s doubtful that Hitman will out-box Pacquiao. Fighters often revert to what they know best when the action heats up, and the Hatton of old, the maul and muscle Hatton, may be the one who frustrates Pacman to the point of defeat.
The Hitman faithful have descended upon Vegas by the thousands; the Filipino nation has shutdown.
Brace yourself for the potential “Fight of the Year.”
Pacquiao by TKO in nine.
Will Pacquiao-Hatton live up the hype? Who wins? How will it end? Sound off here.
Message Edited by ComcastSports on 05-01-2009 01:16 PM
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